Zurlon Tipton's surprise return unable to help Central Michigan as Ball State rolls on national TV

MUNCIE, Ind. – Not even the surprise return of Zurlon Tipton could save Central Michigan in front of a national viewing audience.

With whispers going around all week about the Chippewa senior running back’s availability after practicing over the past week, the anticipation continued right up into CMU’s opening drive Wednesday night at Ball State in a Mid-American Conference clash carried nationally by ESPN2.

Tipton, who broke his ankle in the season opener at Michigan, was ruled out for the season many times by people not named Zurlon Tipton.

The preseason Maxwell Award watch list running back, on the other hand, always had a target date of Nov. 6.

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Tipton certainly made good on his promise and even scored his first touchdown of the season in the second half, but it ultimately was far from enough as a 28-point halftime deficit eventually settled into a 44-24 final.

“The medical people were astounded. I’ve never been around anyone like him,” said Central Michigan head coach Dan Enos of Tipton. “He came into my office three days after he had surgery and said he was going to play against Ball State. I said, ‘OK, Zurlon. That’s a nice story.’ And he did. So he’s an amazing guy.”

After moving around on the field with a hop in his step over an hour before the contest, Tipton then dressed in full uniform during warm-ups and accompanied the other Central captains for the coin toss.

Once Ball State took the opening kickoff and promptly scored, which would become routine the rest of the night, the next questioned centered all around Tipton’s availability.

While he did not enter the game on first down, he made his way on for second down and promptly received a carry which netted zero yards.

Much of Tipton’s day was uneventful as the plan was to limit his carries coming off the serious injury. He finished with only eight yards on five carries, but did score a third quarter touchdown on a 1-yard run.

The only problem was that it was CMU’s first touchdown of the day and cut the deficit to 34-10 with 6:49 left in the quarter.

So what all transpired prior to Tipton’s score?

Not a whole lot to write home about for Central Michigan (3-6, 2-3) as it turned the ball over three times in the first half and Ball State (9-1, 6-0) capitalized every time.

In fact, the Cardinals did not punt all game as much of the time they simply took their possession and scored quickly.

All in all, the tackling effort of the Chippewas defense was porous at best as they routinely failed to attack running backs in the hole while getting gashed through the air by impressive BSU senior quarterback Keith Wenning.

“They are very good, but we didn’t help,” Enos said. “We played very tentatively at the start of the game. You can see that.”

Enos added that the 17-day layoff didn’t help matters in terms of tackling drills as he pointed out there are only so many times you can get physical with the extra time off.

“There is a good chance we might have a very physical week of practice heading into the Western game,” said Enos.

Prior to the Miami game a month ago, the Chippewas had what was deemed a physical week of practice by Enos which seemingly paid dividends as CMU reeled off a two-game road winning streak.

It might be needed after Ball State rolled to 355 total yards by halftime and a 31-3 advantage, then managed 549 total yards by game’s end.

Jordan Williams began the scoring with an 8-yard TD toss from Wenning, then Willie Sneed caught a touchdown pass from 13 yards out later in the first quarter to make it 14-0.

In the second quarter, a Jamill Smith 30-yard TD reception gave Wenning his 15th career three-TD passing game.

Central Michigan finally got on the board via a Ron Coluzzi 30-yard field goal with 8:57 left in the half, but BSU answered with a field goal of its own and then a Horactio Banks 25-yard run to paydirt to make it 31-3 at the break.

Ball State extended it to 34-3, then Tipton’s 1-yard plunge gave the Chippewas their initial touchdown.

Snead caught his second TD of the night, a 1-yarder, which broke Ball State’s all-time receiving touchdowns in a season record as he now has 12.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Cooper Rush brought CMU within 41-17 as he scampered in a 26-yard run on a zone read on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Following a BSU field goal, Titus Davis capped the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown reception from Rush with 1:33 left.

Davis was one of the few bright spots for Central Michigan, finishing with nine catches for 187 yards and the TD.

“At the end of the day, we have to score,” Davis said. “I feel like we haven’t done that enough this season. We need to keep playing and push to put up points.”

Davis’ touchdown catch gives him 22 for his CMU career, tying him with Antonio Brown for second in school history.

As for Tipton playing, Davis was fairly incredulous that the senior captain could return so fast from what looked to be a season ending injury.

“I didn’t expect him to play, but seeing him get in there and run around a little bit it made me happy,” added Davis. “He got a little score out there. He looked good and I’m happy to see him back.”

Central Michigan gained 397 yards of total offense as Rush was 20-of-32 through the air for 284 yards and one touchdown along with an interception.

Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore led the rushing attack with six carries for 68 yards.

“When they are up scoring, you have to score every time you touch it,” Enos said. “A couple of our turnovers were in the red zone or on the fringe of the red zone. There were times when we moved the ball very effectively, but we have to do better.”

Next up for the Chippewas is a Nov. 16 clash at rival Western Michigan. Kickoff is set for noon.

About the Author

Nate Schneider is a sports writer at the Morning Sun. He covers CMU football, men's basketball and baseball. Nate enjoys craft beer and vegetarianism. He struggles with his daily fashion sense. Reach the author at nschneider@michigannewspapers.com
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